1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to exercise equipment and more particularly to display and control consoles for exercise equipment such as treadmills and stationary bicycles.
2. Background
As in other industries, designers in the exercise equipment industry face challenges if they try to incorporate modern technological advances into traditional exercise equipment, which may include, for example, stationary bicycles, treadmills, elliptical machines, rowing machines, stair climbers, nautilus machines, and the like. Compared to relatively simple devices of the past, modern exercise devices now could incorporate many sophisticated computers and electronics but must often deal with the position and posture dictated by the user and the activity. Technology could enable a user to perform tasks such as tailoring an exercise program to a user's fitness level, selecting a preferred training method, adjusting a device to a user's weight, controlling speed, monitoring body functions, adjusting resistance, and the like. Moreover, modern exercise devices could allow a user to track and monitor a user's progress on the device while exercising. However, access, visibility, and interaction need to be compatible with a user and not a distraction or a burden.
Typically, a control console provides the primary means of interaction between a user and a functional device. An exercise console may include input devices, such as keypads, keyboards, buttons, or the like, to receive user input and thereby allow a user to program and control an exercise device. An exercise console may also include a display device to display pertinent information, such as workout progress, program settings, speed, resistance levels, and the like. For example, light emitting diode (“LED”) displays have been used in various devices to display information. Such LED displays often include arrays or other arrangements of LEDs and provide a bright, low-power solution for displaying information. However, LED displays are limited by low resolution and very few available colors.
More recently, newer displays, such as liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”), offer higher resolutions and greater arrays of available colors. Moreover, LCDs could be used to display entertainment, such as television, movies, music videos, and the like, in addition to workout information. Nevertheless, LCDs also have their drawbacks. For example, LCDs may be significantly more expensive than LED displays, less bright, less contrasting, more subject to glare, and subject to a much narrower viewing angle.
Problems with the viewing angle may be especially pronounced in exercise devices used at gyms, where patrons of different heights may use the same device. For example if a separate pivoting LCD were attached to the top of an exercise console, this configuration would be expensive, cumbersome, require multiple components, and obstruct a user's field of view. This could also affect the affordability and market competitiveness of an exercise device in an industry where there are significant pressures to keep costs low.
Another problem with modern processor-based equipment and controllers, including exercise consoles, is the learning curve often needed to operate and use such devices. It is difficult for users to learn how to use the unique programming scheme, let alone recall it when needed. That is, as the sophistication of control consoles increases, the complexity of operation often likewise increases. Where buttons are provided on the exercise console, it may be time-consuming for a user to determine which buttons to push and the order in which to push them. Furthermore, a user may not have the time or patience to read and refer repeatedly to a user manual. Likewise, using exercise time to read through instructions printed in a small font at an awkward distance on the device or an associated exercise console may be considered a waste. This can be especially frustrating for the technologically challenged or phobic or the user who switches between different exercise devices at a club. This may also discourage some from exercising at all due to the inconvenience involved in getting a device to serve them.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is an exercise console that takes advantage of newer LCD technology, while avoiding many of the shortcomings discussed herein. Specifically, an exercise console is needed that can incorporate LCD technology while accommodating users of different heights. Such a device would ideally be inexpensive, simple, and adaptable to accommodate a user's field of view.
Further needed are apparatus and methods for reducing the learning curve needed to operate and use many exercise consoles. Where buttons are used on an exercise console, apparatus and methods are needed for quickly indicating to a user which buttons to push and the order to push them. Such apparatus and methods would ideally minimize the amount of time and reading needed to program and operate a device and accommodate the technologically inexperienced, challenged, or phobic.